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javacharacter-encodingnotepadprinterspage-break

Inserting a page Break in a text file by inserting FormFeed Character. Is this Universal solution?

Inserting a page Break in a text file by inserting FormFeed Character using Java.

Is my solution universal or will it cause any problems?

Sample Code:
PrintWriter bof = response.getWriter();             // Obtained Writer from HTTP Response
bof.write("Para 1");                        // Write 1st Para to printWriter
bof.write(new Character((char) 12).toString());         // Write Form Feed Character for Page Break
bof.write("Para 1");                        // Write 2nd Para to printWriter

My Concerns: The Solution is working but below my 2 concenrs:

Point 1: Is there a way to hide Unknown symbol shown for FormFeed character in notepad ?

Point 2: I am currently opening the txt file with Word and checking the print Preview:

the Form Feed is actually making a page break as expected.

But are there any implications to this solution or will it work universally with all printers?

Solution

  • Factors effecting Display and Print:

    Display of formFeed on opening a txt file by a program depends on:

    • The Program's Interpretation of FormFeed character.

    But Print operation result depends on:

    • Program used to open and Print txt file
    • The Printer we are using.

    Form Feed Character handling by Various Programs:

    1)NotePad:

    • Notepad is only text Editor and dont interpret Form Feed Character as pageBreak.

    • Hence when a txt file containing a formFeed Character:

      when opened with Notepad >> It is displayed as Unreadable Symbol

      When Printed after opening with NotePad : same unreadable Symbol is printed on paper.

    2) Some WordProcessors like WordPad/ Microsoft Word/other 3rd party Editors :

    • Renders FormFeed character correctly as pageBreak.
    • On opening txt file with them Displays it as pageBreak and on printing also it acts as pagebreak.
    • We can also see Form Feed rendered as PageBreak in PrintPreview option in programs like WordPag/MS Word.

    Universal Solution for getting PageBreak:

    • Some printers dont support Page Break by formFeed character and simply Ignores it irrespective of program used to open/print it.

    • Usage of "/page" with RichTextFile(RTF) File is more Reliable/Universal solution and works with most printers.

    With Rtf Files we can specify:

    • "/page" instead of "/f" for page Break and /par for lineBreak.

    • Rtf file is opened by default with Wordpad program in Windows.

    • Additional format control is possible using Rtf file like:

      ex: particular font and font size (like Times New Roman size 10) can be specified.

    In my Case Solution used is:

    Point 1:

    • when opened by notepad Unreadable symbol is shown as notepad cant render FormFeed character.

    Point 2:

    • I got PageBreak in Print Preview as I used MS Word which renders formFeed correctly as Page Break.
    • But as already said some Printers might ignore it eventhough MS Word interprets it correctly and sends it for printing.

    So I used rtf file instead of txt file and hence used "/page" instead of "/f" for more universal solution.